VA one shot compilation
by princesslara99
Summary: Hiya! As per the title, I'll be posting some random one shots from the VA world.
1. Halloween special

**Title:** A Halloween to remember!

 **Author:** princesslara99.

 **Background:** AU. Dimitri is a royal moroi and Rose is his girlfriend. They are currently seniors at St. Vladimir's and it is Dimitri's first Halloween with Rose. Everything seems perfect in the beginning – a typical high school Halloween party, but suddenly the air changes. A danger impending springs up out of nowhere! Come read and find out how Rose and gang deal the situation. This one shot runs parallel to my story – _In the Highschool_ , but could be a standalone work too. Quick thank you to my sister for brushing up the last of the details.

* * *

The sun was low on the horizon, casting its lively yellow light and illuminating the gothic structure of St. Vladimir's academy, making it seem otherworldly to any oblivious passerby. It was a wonder how the place had evaded human interactions for so long!

It was the beginning of a normal day for the morois and the dhampirs (the good vampires and their fierce protectors) who resided the place.

And this fine day found Princess Vasilisa Dragomir, the last of the Dragomir line, in her best friend's room.

"Hey Rose, the Halloween party's next week!" She bounced on her bed, excitement flooding through her petite form in waves.

Rose tried to raise her eyebrows at her over – excited friend, "So?" She liked Halloween alright, but it was nothing compared to the elation Lissa felt at its mere mention. It was her favorite time of the year – except for Thanksgiving that is.

"Oh don't go 'so' on me!" Lissa huffed. Rose rolled her eyes and went back to the damned homework she was trying to complete in the mean time. All that calculus stuff was frying her brain away. _Who needs to use that stuff in daily_ _life anyway? Certainly not her!_

"It is going to be so much fun this time!" Lissa continued to gush, oblivious to her friend's growing irritation on the mathematics notebook placed in front of her.

"Oh really? What's going to be so different?"

"Come on! This will be your first Halloween with Dimitri!"

At the mention of his name, Rose paused. She couldn't believe her heart skipped a beat just on the mention of his name. His goddamned beautiful name! Dimitri – her boyfriend, the first person she was in love with. Lissa was right, this year it would be different. Better. Best.

"So? Have you decided what you'll go as?" Lissa interrupted her thoughts the next second and Rose finally shut her notebook giving up the pretense of doing the work.

But before she could speak, Lissa cut her off, "Oh! I know what you should go as!"

"What?"

"A lingerie model!"

"As if!" Rose scoffed and a wide grin graced her lips as she thought of their principal, Kirova's reaction if she turned up as a La Perla model to the school's Halloween party!

"No really! You'll knock his socks off!" Lissa giggled. Rose rolled her eyes at her. She knew better than to reply to that statement.

"What are you going as?" She asked instead, diverting the attention back to Lissa.

"That's a surprise! But I'll give you a hint; Christian and I are going as a famous couple!"

"Let me guess …uhm… Cinderella and Prince Charming?"

The scowl in Lissa's face suggested that Rose had guessed very correctly. "Oh Liss!" Rose laughed. "Christian as Prince Charming, this could be fun!"

* * *

"Rose!" Lissa's voice carried throughout the hallway as she banged the door of her best friend's dormitory. "Are you done yet?!"

"Your highness!" Christian's voice followed Lissa's, as he kicked the door. "Your peasants are waiting. Grace us with your presence!"

"Shut up, Christian." Dimitri rolled his eyes at the sarcasm of his best friend. "Take your time, Roza. I'll be here." he called out, adoration lacing his accented voice.

"You spoil her, Mitya!" Christian snorted, fixing his coat/ cape jacket. It was St. Vladimir's Halloween night and the three friends were standing at the corridors of the female dhampir dorms, waiting for Rose to make an appearance, so that they could join the party raging downstairs.

"So what?" Dimitri quipped, straightening his hat. "She deserves to be spoiled."

"Whatev…." Christian's witty remark was cut off, as the handle of the door clicked and Rose appeared.

"You look beautiful, milaya." Dimitri breathed as he saw her. Perfection. The only word that registered his mind, his Roza was the epitome of perfection! And he was giddy on the thought that he'll be celebrating his first Halloween with her! He kissed the top of her nose in affection.

"He's right Rose," Lissa smiled, showing all her pearly whites. She and Christian were dressed as Cinderella and Prince Charming, as mentioned earlier.

Lissa looked elegant in her blue and white gown. It was the typical Cinderella gown you find on eBay, but the quality was far better. She had paired it up with diamond chandelier earrings and a silver choker necklace. The overall effect was amazing!

While Lissa rocked her 'princess look', Christian looked ridiculous in his Prince Charming outfit. "Oh my god Christian!" Rose laughed as she took in his attire, light blue smock shirt that was buttoned up to his collar. He had donned a pair of crème colored square tail jacket which was embroidered with gold threads, "Words escape me at this moment!"

"At least I look better than you!" he scoffed, clearly uncomfortable in wearing anything but black as he adjusted the sleeve of his smock shirt. "And I didn't take three hours to do my make up but still look awful."

"Don't listen to him." Dimitri clicked his tongue. "You look breathtaking. Just like a goddess." She was wearing a white long satin dress, the top tied up on her shoulders leaving her arms bare. A gold colored sash was wrapped right around her waist and she had braided her hair on the top of her head with few tendrils escaping. She looked just what she had aimed for – a Greek goddess.

"You look handsome as well, cowboy!" Rose said straightening the lapel of his duster, giving him a shy smile. Nevertheless to say, he looked devilishly handsome! Dimitri smiled down at her and bent to capture her lips in a sweet kiss.

"Are you guys done admiring each other?" Christian whined. "Can we go to the party now?"

The three of them rolled their eyes at him but complied. In no time, they found themselves at the entrance of the gymnasium – the venue of the Halloween party.

"Let's go!" Lissa squealed.

* * *

The school authorities and the students in –charge had clearly put up a lot of effort to give the hallway a scary dungeon look. The lights were dim with occasional flashes of reds and greens. Halloween themed music was blaring out of the speakers. There were fake cobwebs and slime and everything to give the place a spooky look.

They moved further inside, it was the same but the walls had posters everywhere – funny Halloween quotations and jokes. And though it would have been difficult for normal eyes, but to their enhanced senses, it was no biggie to see everything clearly.

Rose read one of them out loud, "Those who believe in telekinetics raise my hand."

"Where do they come up with stuff like that?" Lissa laughed.

"Hey!" Dimitri grinned. "Check this one out. 'Ghosts, like ladies, never speak till spoken to.'"

Rose and Christian bellowed out full belly laughter, joined by Dimitri and Lissa.

"Oh I'm enjoying this tonight! It's been so long!" Rose said excitement clear in her voice.

"You're right. I love this!" Lissa agreed.

"Hey! There's more!" Christian pulled them with him to the next poster.

' _Where there is no imagination there is no horror.'_

' _If you haven't found something strange during the day, it hasn't been much of a day.'_

' _We live in a Newtonian world of Einsteinian physics ruled by Frankenstein logic.'_

There was some more laughing session as they studied the posters, after which the quartet moved to the table to get some punch.

"Eeww! This looks like blood!" Rose scrunched up her nose, eyeing the punch warily.

"It's supposed to look like one, deity." Christian smirked.

"It's watermelon punch. And yours isn't spiked. Drink up." Dimitri instructed. He was enjoying the evening too. Though Halloween was still not his favourite sport, but he was happy spending time with Rose and his friends.

"Let's go mingle." Rose suggested as they made their way through the crowd. In one of the storage rooms, they'd set up a large barrel of water to give the impression of a fake pool, a large tangle of fake cobwebs complete with very realistic looking spiders.

The teachers chaperoning were dressed as various characters as well. Rose could see Mr. Nagy dressed as batman and Ms. Meissner as Priscilla Presley. Alberta was dressed in her formal black and whites, clearing choosing to stay out of the hoopla for kids. Rose was shocked to see Kirova dressed as Marilyn Monroe! Talk about surprises!

"Hey look at Jesse!" Lissa said pointing in his general direction. He was swarmed by a group of girls who were hanging around him like a bad smell. He had dressed as James Dean and much to Rose's dismay; he pulled the look off quite well. He had a beautiful face no doubt; too bad he was an asshole!

Rose's eyes again wandered back to Dimitri. He had put little to no effort in his appearance. The duster he regularly wore was still resting on his shoulders. He had adorned a worn out cowboy hat and had completed his look off with combat boots and cowboy belt. He was handsome without effort in all his six – foot – seven – inches glory! She couldn't believe her luck that this beautiful man was with her!

"You're staring," he said quietly with an amused look in his face.

"So? It's not every day I see such a pretty cowboy," Rose teased taking a sip of her drink. "So let me feed on my dirty thoughts, comrade."

Dimitri scrunched his nose up, "I don't think I was going for 'pretty'. It was more along the adjectives like – hot, heart throbbing sex on legs. And for the dirty thoughts, you're free to share them with me – you never know when they turn into reality." He smirked.

"Oh comrade! We'll get to that later tonight. I might have a surprise for you..." Rose giggled as the smirk was wiped off his face, hunger replacing them in an instant.

"Later." She mouthed before smiling smugly at the ability to render him speechless.

"Let's go dance!" She said pulling Dimitri with her to the dance floor. The Knife – 'Silent Shout,' was blaring out as they danced with Dimitri's arms wrapped around her waist.

"Are you enjoying Comrade?" Rose asked.

"More than I thought, I would." Dimitri replied smiling brightly at her.

"How did you celebrate Halloween in Russia?" she questioned moving with the rhythm. Oh! She loved the feel of the hard length of his body pressed against her!

"We didn't." He replied somewhat amused.

"What?!" Dimitri almost laughed at her dumbfounded expression.

"Back there in Russia, Halloween isn't a big deal." He explained.

"But how can't it be? It's Halloween for god's sake!"

Dimitri shrugged. It was just the way it was!

"Well I'm glad you're celebrating your first Halloween with me then!" Rose smiled intimately at her boyfriend. He grinned down at her catching her lips in an unexpected kiss. It lasted mere seconds but left Rose breathless.

"Best. Halloween. Ever!"

* * *

"Are you people enjoying the evening!"

A petite moroi boy from their year called out from the microphone that had been placed in the makeshift stage earlier. His name was Peter and by the looks of it, he was the in - charge to tonight's show!

A boisterous reply by the shouts and squeals of the students let him know that they were indeed enjoying the night.

"I can't hear you!" The crowd yelled more loudly, causing some of the teachers to stuff their ears.

"Now that's some response!" The boy, Peter joked. He was dressed as Dracula. "Now...we all know, as per the traditions, that we are supposed to tell each other scary ghost stories..." he whispered the last part, trying to sound spooked but the way the crowd laughed – it clearly lost its effect. It was funny though!

Some of the people raised their hands, willing to share ghost stories, calling out to Peter. Rose, Lissa, Dimitri and Christian were seated at the back, not paying much attention to the chaos. How could they? When they were wrapped around their respective partners, making out like there was no tomorrow!

All of a sudden, Rose felt a wave of nausea wash over her. Her stomach rolled, causing her to pull away from Dimitri's lips.

"Are you okay, milaya?" Dimitri asked, concern etching his features as he caressed her cheeks.

"Yeah...I...I don't know...I felt queasy..." Rose said, scrunching her nose up.

"Do you need to get out? Take a breather?" he asked her.

"No...I feel fine now." Rose lied. How embarrassing it was to have your date find out you were sick?!

"Are you sure?"

"Absolutely."

"Kelly! Lovely." Peter's voice addressed a girl from the crowd. "Come up on the stage girl! Give her a big hand, people." he announced emanating a cheer from the crowd.

The girl, presumably Kelly, started with her story, "Rachel, from Northallerton, Yorkshire, England was an extremely old woman who had no family still living." The girl started.

"Her only companion and friend was a little brown dog, Fluffs, who went everywhere with her, with one exception. Fluffs loved the open fireplace in winter, and after the old woman went to bed he would sometimes go and lie in the hearth in front of the warm coals. Usually though, the dog slept at the very edge of the bed on a throw rug." She took a deep breath, looking around to see that everyone was paying attention at her. Even Rose and Dimitri were intrigued as they quit their kissing to listen to her.

"Rachel wouldn't allow the dog on the bed with her, but if she became frightened or had a nightmare, she would put her hand down to the little brown dog and he would lick it reassuringly.

"One dark night Rachel was reading her newspaper just before going to sleep. She shivered and pulled the bedclothes up around her as she read that a mental patient had wandered off from the nearby Broadmoor asylum. No one knew if the patient was dangerous or not; he was a suspect in the murders of several women who had lived alone.

"Rachel turned out the lights and tried to sleep, but she was frightened, and kept thinking of the news report; she tossed and turned fitfully.

"Finally, she reached down to where the little brown dog slept. Sure enough, a warm, wet tongue began to lick her hand. The woman felt reassured and safe, and left her hand dangling off the bed as she turned and settled in comfortably. She opened her eyes for a moment and looked through the open door into the living room.

"There in front of the fireplace, sat Fluffs, gazing at the coals and wagging his tail.

Down beside the bed, something was still licking her hand."

"wooohoooo..." the crowd cheered with scary voices but applauded as the girl left the stage.

"That was spooky, wasn't it?" Peter was back on the stage. "I see our Prince Charming sweating it. Are you okay, Christian?" He asked.

Christian looked completely disinterested as he flipped him a bird. Students hooted and applauded at his reaction. One more story followed Kelly's and was met with a high criticism.

"Boooo! That was a bad one, Kevin!" Peter said out loud in the microphone as the moroi boy staggered down the stairs after delivering his version of ghost and ghoul story.

"Enough of the children's Halloween stories now... Let's do something else...Let's discuss something...more adult!" Peter's timbre had changed considerably and the hiss that continued his speech was audible. The crowd broke on titters as they cheered him, every one thinking of it as one of his attempts to sound scarier. Everyone but Rose.

Her stomach rolled some more, making her hands fly towards her mouth as she tried to suppress the bile rising in her throat.

"Roza!" Dimitri shifted her so she could lean against him. "Did you eat something bad?"

"Not that I remember..." Rose said trying to take deep breaths.

Are you alright? Lissa's concerned voice in her mind indicated that she had her attention now.

"I'm fine Liss," Rose replied. "Queasy...but fine."

A loud scream pierced through the gym halls, startling everyone. Guardians instantly grabbed their stake, looking around frantically to discern the source of the sound.

"Scared, aren't we?" Peter's cold chuckle attracted the attention of the crowd back to him. "What's a good Halloween if you can't scare your friends, right?" Some of the students broke into a nervous chuckle as they realized this was a prank.

People hadn't even completely calmed down when the lights of the gym suddenly went out. Screams and gasps filled the air at the sudden invasion of light.

Rose could feel Lissa's anxiety flow through the bond and tried the best to calm her down. "It's okay Liss. I'm right here. It's just a prank. Calm down." The catch was that as much as Rose wanted to believe it, she wasn't sure of her own words right now. An eerie feeling gripped her. Something was wrong. So very wrong!

"Darkness. A funny thing isn't it?" Peter's voice had an added chill to it. "When everything around us just disappears... darkness makes us aware, create anticipation, like right now? Aren't you guys out of your mind right now guessing what's going to happen next?" he added in a rush whisper.

"This is getting out of hand, Peter." Alberta's voice was stern even though no one could see her, they knew she was serious. "Enough of the prank now, cut it out!"

"Cut it out, Guardian Petrov?" Peter's smirk was clear in his voice. Dimitri tightened his hands around Rose's waist. He didn't want to admit, but he was spooked. Big time.

"Well, I imagined the evening turning out a bit differently...You all want to know what I had planned?." No one spoke. It was calm, but not the peaceful one. It was more like the calm before a storm. Adrenaline was running through everyone's veins. Anticipation coiled at the bottom of their stomach. Nothing but the collective gasp of fastened breaths could be heard. They waited for something. Anything to happen, anytime now!

"This!" Peter hissed and suddenly there was a spot light on the stage. People squinted their eyes at the sudden assault of light. It was like everything and everyone was frozen in their place. The only thing that had changed was where Peter stood alone in the stage when the lights had died down earlier, now with him, stood a terrified Kelly.

"Cut it out, Guardian Petrov?" He taunted. And Rose couldn't believe she missed that – his appearance. His skin was pale – paler than any other moroi standing there. And now that she had seen it – the red in his eyes were hard to miss. He was no longer their classmate and friend for he had joined the living dead. Peter was unmistakably a Strigoi.

"No...I can't cut it...But I can do something better. I can bite." And before the guardians in the room could react, his fangs were deep in Kelly's jugular, draining her blood.

Chaos broke out all of a sudden as screams of horror filled the room and the crowd of panicked students started to run, trying to find the nearest exit. The guardians sprang into action, two of them jumped up in the stage to rescue the poor girl when Peter ripped her away from himself roughly, tossing her on the floor, like a rag doll.

"Everybody! Clear the room!" Alberta shouted at the top of her lungs, "Russell, Donovan! Escort the Princess out. Stay with her."

"Not so fast Petrov!" Peter growled. "You think we would let you ruin our plans, wash all our efforts? Huh? Princess is the prize! Princess Vasilisa Sabina Rhea Dragomir, the last of the Dragomir line killed in the crossfire of the strigoi attack at St. Vladimir's academy! How does that sound huh?"

Rose felt Lissa freeze as soon as the words were out of his mouth. A thousand thoughts run through her mind and yet she felt frozen, not being able to put a finger on any.

"Roza, Lissa. Come on, let's move!" Dimitri hissed coming to step in front of them, Christian doing the same. Rose wanted to yell at them to move out of the way and stay behind her, but Lissa stopped her.

"Rose?" A whimper escapes her lips. She didn't want to die. No. She didn't. But she also didn't want anyone else to die because of her. Talk about dilemma!

"Don't panic!" Rose hissed. "We're going to get you out of here safely. Stay calm and do as you're told. Do you hear me?"

Lissa nodded her head frantically, tears pooling in her eyes.

"The doors locked!" one of the guardians yelled. "We can't move out!"

Peter's cackle broke through the anarchy, as he yelled on the top of his lungs, "Strigoi brothers and sisters! Attack!"

Rose hadn't even digested his words properly, when out of nowhere, four strigoi's jumped out from the dark corners of the room, moving in their lightening fast speed towards her. Or more specifically - towards Lissa.

Two of them were tackled into the ground by Alberta and three other guardians while two were still fighting Peter. Rose jumped in front of Dimitri, pushing him back as a strigoi approached him, throwing a punch in his direction.

"Stay back!" Rose growled, as she kicked the strigoi in the gut, hardly making him flinch.

"Rose!" Lissa yelled. Dimitri and Christian caught her just in time she was about to make a run. They covered her protectively along with the guardians Alberta had assigned to Lissa. "Stay back Princess!" one of the guardians growled as he took his position in front of her.

"Dhampir!" The strigoi snarled. Rose lunged switching on offensive, throwing a couple of kicks in his lower middle portion to take him down. It was clear that the strigoi was a moroi in his previous life for he had no real technique to own the fight and was relying totally on his unnatural strength and reflexes. He went down but only after a second was back up throwing his full body weight at Rose, making her trip. But luckily, she caught the pillar nearby to steady herself before launching again at him.

"Rose!" Alberta yelled, pulling out her spare stake and throwing it at her. Rose caught it with practiced efficiency. Three of the five moroi were dead, along with Peter. Three down. Two more to go.

The motivation pushed Rose as she turned around, landing a deadly roundhouse kick on the strigois jaw, making him stumble over on the ground.

"You bitch!" he snarled, baring his fangs at her. Rose leaped upon him, scratching his cheek with her silver. He growled inhumanly in pain and tried to jerk her off his torso, but Rose pinned him back down with her body weight, trying to get that stake through his heart. The bastard wasn't making things easy. He twisted his body, trying to get her weight off him. "Get off me you stupid bitch!" he yelled. "Or else I swear…."

Rose didn't hear the ending of his sentence as in a fraction of second; her stake was buried clean in his chest through his heart. He was dead.

Out of the corner of her eyes, she saw a flash of light as Christian lit up the last strigoi's head, while Guardian Russell drove a stake through his heart.

"Check all the corners; make sure that these were the last of it." Alberta barked cradling her injured hand. The students and the teachers were ushered out quickly after the quick check of the perimeter.

"The dangers averted!" She announced after a few minutes, visible sagging in relief.

* * *

"How's she?" Christian inquired, settling himself down on the small chair beside the bed on which his Lissa was lying. She had passed out as soon as he had incinerated the last strigoi.

"She's absolutely fine. Just passed out from exertion." the kind nurse replied. "She'll be up any second now."

Rose burst through the door at the same instant, her searching eyes land on Lissa lying on the infirmary bed, unconscious. Dimitri was just steps behind her.

"Oh Liss!" Rose sighed.

"She's fine." Christian said repeating the nurse's words. Rose shook her head at him before flopping down on the chair in the corner of the room.

"How had Peter played it out?" Christian asked after a long stretch of silence.

Dimitri cleared his throat, "He didn't." At Christian's raised eyebrows, he continued, "The strigoi penetrated the ward line with the help of a human, a body was found near the ward line." he explained. "On their move further, they encountered Peter who was getting ready for tonight's show. It was their plan to get an inside man, they turned him."

"And the rest was just as it was…."

"You should go and rest. I'll stay with her." Christian announced before ushering both of them outside.

* * *

Dimitri had his arms around Rose as soon as they stepped outside in the chill of the night. He looked down at her for a few moments before placing his lips firmly over hers, capturing her lips in a desperate kiss.

"Comrade…."Rose sighed snuggling closer to him.

"I was scared today." he admitted.

"I was too." Rose confessed.

"I love you Roza!"

"I love you too!" Rose sighed. "Still the best Halloween ever?"

"Yep. It was definitely a Halloween to remember!"

* * *

 **The story and the quotations used in the story are the result of Google search.**


	2. Festive special

**Title :** Christmas of forgiveness!

 **Author:** princesslara99.

 **Background:** Hope. Love. Forgiveness. Isn't Christmas all about it? Follow Rose and Dimitri through this journey, where they rediscover themselves. Dimitri is a royal moroi and the king of the moroi world. He left Rose five years ago when they were students of St. Vladimir's without a word. But now he's back, ready to turn her life upside down. He's a man on mission with a single target – winning her back!

* * *

Tan. Tun.

The doorbell rang, making Rose jerk from where she was standing in the foyer. It was late. 10 a.m. The world was asleep. At least her world was. In the deep woods of Pennsylvania – The Court was Rose Hathaway's world. Her heart tried to remind her that somewhere, someplace she had another world. Her home. He was the centre of her world. He was her home. She quickly shushed her thoughts.

"Rose, can you get it?" she heard a sleepy voice call out to her. Lissa. Her best friend and charge. Princess Vasilisa Sabina Rhea Dragomir was a royal member of the magical, ancient race of vampires : The Moroi. She had been her best friend since they were children, when the four year old Rose had thrown her book at the teacher who had paired the girls, asking them to spell each other's name.

"On it." Rose called hearing Christian grunt when the ring persisted. With her silver stake in her hand, Rose walked steadily to the door, peering though the peephole to find a figure in black staring intently at the door.

A Guardian. Guardians were essentially the second race : The Dhampirs. Dhampirs were basically half breeds – half human and half moroi. They were bred with the best qualities of both the races, but unlike moroi, they didn't need blood for sustenance. Guardians were protectors of the moroi.

Rose opened the door, sensing no danger.

"Guardian Hathaway." The other guardian said respectfully.

"Yes, Guardian Rogers?" Rose said, not sure she got his name right until she saw the bulky man smile. Her eyes immediately flew to the blue colored badge pined in his collar. He was a royal guard. Her heart clenched. Somehow she knew. She knew the purpose of his visit. Blue was the current royal color. Blue was 'his' color.

"How may I help you?" she asked quietly and was proud her voice didn't quiver like her insides were right then. Her palms grew sweaty and her heart was beating so fast, she wasn't sure, she could hear the guardian speak over the thudding.

The man smiled, sensing her unease. "Guardian, You are requested to present yourself before the crown."

* * *

"Your majesty," the guard bowed down, making Dimitri look up from where he was drowned under the documents in his desk. "Your guest is here."

It was like all the breath had been sucked out from his chest. His heart thudded violently as if wanting to rip apart from his chest and fuse with hers forever. The six – foot – seven inches brute never thought he could feel butterflies in his belly again. But there he was – five years later – and those damned butterflies had turned into bats!

"Tell her I'll be there in a minute. Make sure she's comfortable." He ordered kindly. The young guardian pressed his fist to his chest bowing again.

He stood up, but he could feel his limbs shake, as he ran a nervous hand through his hair. He subtly checked himself out in the full length mirror places strategically near the door. He was going to see her, his Roza, after five long, painful years. Nervousness gripped him, but he willed his feet to move.

With long but shaky strides, he reached the double doors of the throne room. Nodding at the guards respectfully, he dismissed them. He wanted her alone. All for himself and if his plan succeeded, she'd be his very soon. The thought encouraged him and he pushed the door open, only to have his heart stop.

She. Was. Breathtaking.

The sight of her was a sucker punch to his gut. He didn't know what he's been expecting but this was beyond his imagination. Damn! Those stupid photographs couldn't do her any justice. His Roza was no longer the pretty high school girl he remembered, but she was a beautiful woman now. Her features were hardened by the years of guardianship yet she was still soft and had a feminine air about her. She was an angel. And he wanted her. So bad, he couldn't breathe.

Suddenly, she turned as if sensing his presence. He saw her eyes soften at the sight of him, before she schooled her features in a neutral mask. Dimitri smiled. This was what he was waiting for. The confirmation. The confirmation that his Roza still felt for him as much he did. She might be angry at him, but it was there.

The thought made him smile despite himself. "Hello Roza." he called, very much aware that she was a sucker for his accent.

Rose bowed down in a customary courtesy, as if mocking him. "Your majesty." her voice taunted. "To what do I owe this pleasure?"

Dimitri's smiled widened. Oh how he missed her! He started to move, taking short but meaningful strides towards her, his eyes blatantly devouring her.

"It is a matter of emergency, yes." He drawled.

* * *

He was close. Oh so close! He was standing in her personal space. And smiling! That bastard was smiling! Rose wished she could wipe the smile off his face. With her lips.

No! Where that thought did come from? She mentally scowled at herself.

With a nervous step, she backed down. "And it involves me?"

Dimitri's smile never left his face as he took another step forward. "It very much revolves around you." His voice had dropped a timbre, making his voice husky and his accent more pronounced. His dark eyes were locked to hers, and she saw, clear as day, the blatant hunger in his stare.

Rose was used to the looks of lust towards her. In her line of field, she had more acquaints with males than with females. Not one. Not one had ever made her feel like this. His hunger seemed to trigger her own lust and she fought the urge to squirm and press her thighs together to quiet the ache between her legs.

"Your majesty..."

"Comrade."

"What?"

"Call me comrade. Like you used to." he said softly, almost whispering.

Rose snapped, jerking away from him. "There is nothing about the situation as it used to be." She said venomously.

The smile faltered off his face, but she could look in his eyes that his determination hadn't faded a bit.

"That's why we are here today. To rectify the situation."

Rose scoffed. "To rectify the situation?" A humorless laugh left her. "What have you got now? Some kind of space travel thing, that you could go and erase all these years?"

Rose fumed. Angry at him. Angry at herself for losing all her calm, when she swore she'd never let him see any of her weakness. Angry that she still cared! Angry at the situation. Angry at the whole damn world!

"I wish I had it." The sadness in his voice almost broke her. She squished the urge to run and take him in her arms. Comfort him like she used to do. The man was big, but Rose knew he was a coddler at his heart. She still remembered how he used to hold her tightly in his arms while they slept. How he used to inhale her scent as if it was the only thing that he wanted.

And at that time, she believed it. Rose believed him when he said he'd spend the rest of his life with her by his side. She believed when he said that he'd fight the world for her. That she was the most precious thing in his life. That she was the only good thing that had ever happened to him. She believed it all.

And look where it got her. She thought bitterly. He abandoned her. He left her at the last day of the school, without an apology, much less an explanation. She was wounded so bad she lived in denial for days. She couldn't believe it. How could she? When they were so much in love? When everything was going so well? How could something possibly get so wrong that it burst their happy bubble?

Not only that, she's pretty much experienced the five stages of grief: Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression and Acceptance.

The few weeks after him leaving, she lived in denial. He was coming back. She told herself. Something must have happened. Maybe Vika was sick again. Or Olena. He couldn't abandon her, could he? Why would he? She asked herself. Why would he not receive her calls? Why would she end up sobbing in his voicemails every time she called her? Why? Why? Oh god! Why?!

Then came – Anger. It happened abruptly, when she heard a robotic voice responded in her ears the 'the number you're calling, doesn't exist.' All this time she was deluding herself that somehow he must have lost his phone or broken it. That was the reason he couldn't connect to her, but no. He ended up his services with his service provider. He left her. For real.

Then came bargaining. She was lost in what ifs, wracking her for any mistake she must have done to make him leave. She must have said something hurtful, done something wrong. She pretty much blamed herself for his leaving.

The fourth phase didn't take long to overshadow all the other stages. Depression was the hardest. She would lie in the bed all day, lost in her own head. Nothing was happy anymore. Not. A. Thing. Everything reminded her of him. He was everywhere. His scent assaulted her. It was like living with a ghost. HIS ghost. Lissa and Christian were worried sick about her. Dimitri hadn't even told his best friend, Christian about leaving. He was abandoned too. Suffice to say, Lissa was her rock. She helped her get over it, filling her days with so much love and happiness that she had no other choice than to smile. She helped her stand up, taking the role of her primary guardian, best friend and sister for life.

The final stage – Acceptance. After three years, she finally reached a point where she had to accept that he was never coming back for her. She had no choice but to move on with her life. She did. She moved on. But she never forgot.

Lissa, Christian and her had left court somewhere during the 'depression' phase. And Rose had to admit that the change of scenery helped her big time. Over years, they got married, but stayed as far away from court as possible. Their daughter, Beatrice, as they called her Bea, was the turning point in her life. Falling in the role of protective aunt and godmother helped her a lot. She loved her to death. Unfortunately, due to the demise of Queen Tatiana, Lissa being the member of Dragomir family had to return to the court to give her condolences. Right after the funeral, a new King was announced. It was him. Dimitri Alexander Belikov – the first of his name.

"Roza…" His pained voice called her again after a stretch of silence.

* * *

Fuck!

He couldn't look at her eyes and witness all the pain. The pain he put there. If he could, he would kill himself. Oh what she must have gone through!

He left, yes. But he didn't do it for fun. It was hardly any fun! And while Rose must have gone through tough phases, it was no picnic for himself! How could he possibly explain her what he did, why he did?

But he had to make this better. He. Had. To. Make. her. Happy. Again.

His eyes hardened, so did his features. "Guardian Hathaway. I have a proposition for you."

* * *

"You asshole!" A voice screamed pushing the door to his study open, making the guards jump into alert. Dimitri lifted his eyes to see a vision of platinum blonde hair stroll into the office like she owned it. Dear ol' Vasilisa, Dimitri smirked.

"You sonofabitch!" She screamed on the top of her lungs. The poor guards seemed torn between doing their duty to protect their King and taking down the intruder or escorting the 'uncalm Princess' back to her quarters. Wary, they looked at Dimitri for orders. He sent an amused smile their way, dismissing them.

"Vasilisa." He smirked, knowing full well how much she hated her given name. "Long time no see."

"Don't look so amused, you piece of jackshit! You can't do this!" she screamed. Suffice to say, she was pissed. Big time.

"I can do anything I want. I'm the king, remember?" he teased.

"I don't give a rat's ass if you're the King. I'll strangle you with my bare hands! How dare you do this? How dare you ask her to come guard you?"

"I want her."

Lissa scoffed. "No you don't! You just want to play with her!"

All the amusement left Dimitri's face at the accusation. "You don't know shit!" he growled.

"I don't know shit? You don't know shit? Where were you when she was falling apart after you left her? Where were you when she would call you every day, never leaving her phone, in case you called? Where were you when she refused to eat? You left her only as a shell of herself! Hell, I don't even know if she's still moved on!"

"That's a good thing at least." Lissa looked at him with disbelief in her eyes. "I don't want her to get over me. Period."

"You're unbelievable!" she cried.

Dimitri growled. "You think you know everything, don't you? Tell me, how does it feel when you find a note saying if you didn't leave her, she'd be killed the first thing morning."

Lissa's eyes widened.

"Of course, you don't know!" Dimitri laughed bitterly. "I didn't leave her then. Couldn't even think of it. Then came the phone calls. Telling me how they would like to slit her pretty little neck. How they were monitoring her every move. How they were so close, they were breathing down on her neck. How about when you find out it was the queen, yes Queen Tatiana Ivashkov, making threats against her life? So I'd say Vasilisa – YOU DON'T KNOW SHIT!"

Lissa was stunned to silence. All the semblance of speech had left her. "Dimitri.."

"I don't want your pity! I left her to protect her. My calls were being monitored, I couldn't even talk to her!"

"But why?" Lissa gasped.

"The same reason she wanted you to marry Adrian instead of Christian. There were no threats against him, because surprise – he was a royal moroi! Which my Roza wasn't!"

"Oh god!"

"Yes, oh god!" Dimitri ran his fingers through his hair in agitation. "Look Lissa, I need your help. I know I hurt her, but I want to win her back. Help me. Only you could go through this."

Lissa was shocked beyond words. "I'm sorry I misunderstood you."

Dimitri smiled without humor. "You're not the only one."

"I…I'll help you, Dimitri. She loves you. I know this."

"I know it too."

* * *

Rose touched the blue badge, a sense of propriety overwhelming her. It was as if Dimitri was announcing to the world that she was his. His color, his brand. Her heart fluttered at the thought of being his again.

"Ready Rose?" Lissa asked smiling from the doorway. All of her things were already transferred to the royal palace, where her personal quarters were being set. Since Dimitri had chosen her as his primary guardian, she had to be on guard for all the waking hours, only getting relieved from duty, when he went to sleep. That meant, Rose had to spend her every waking hour with him.

Oh god! How would she go by having zero trace of him in her life for five years to being with him every second of the day! Dimitri Belikov was a dangerous man for her, she reminded herself.

'Don't get played this time', she told her heart sternly.

'They come first. Remember this', she advised her mind.

But even then, she couldn't tell her soul to let it go.

"As ready as I ever could be!"

* * *

"Guardian Rosemarie Hathaway," the guard at the door announced, pulling it open for her.

"Your majesty," Rose bowed down at the same time; Dimitri rose from the throne, handing some papers to his PA, Charlotte.

"Make sure you get the new bills on paper, arrange the council meeting and send a word to Lord Zecklos to organize everything. That'll be all." he said smiling down at her.

The petite moroi woman flushed, accepting the papers and nodding at him shyly. Dimitri must have not noticed, but Rose saw the adoration on her face clear as day. A green eyed monster reared its ugly face, making her feel something she didn't want to feel – jealousy.

"Yes, Dimitri." Charlotte batted her eyelashes, before trotting out of the room. Rose's eyes followed her every movement until she was out of her sight.

She scowled and turned back, only to find herself being engulfed by a large figure. Instinctively, she held up her arms to return the hug, before realizing suddenly that she was supposed to push away. She tried. Once. Twice. His hold was tight and she found her courage melting away with every passing second. God! It felt so good to be back in his arms! He smelled the same as she remembered – of his cologne and something that was entirely him. A wave of emotion hit her hard. She still felt for him! Dammit!

She shouldn't, she knew.

She must not! But she couldn't help herself.

He left you. He left you. HE LEFT YOU!

"Your majesty!" she said pushing herself back.

"Stop with it, already!" he said. "I told you. Call me Comrade."

Rose scoffed. "You never liked the nickname."

"Hardly." he smirked. "I loved it. Secretly so, but I did. I loved everything about you. Still do."

Be still her beating heart! Did he just admit that he loved her?

She wasn't sure she was ready for this. Heck! She wasn't ready for shit! Hastily, she changed the subject. "So, Charlotte? You like her?" Oh no! Wrong topic! She smacked herself in her mind! Fuck!

Dimitri's smirk got bigger. "Why? Are you jealous Roza?"

She flushed deeply, before clearing her throat. "Uhm…I think she has a crush on you."

"You think?" he raised one eyebrow.

Sudden rage filled her, "You're so full of yourself, aren't you?"

"You would know that," he said with a smirk. If possible, Rose's flush grew darker. She shook her head to clear all the diverging thoughts.

"So, when do I start?" she asked instead.

"Right now," Dimitri smiled. "Follow me."

He took her through some hallways, stopping to give her tidbits of information. "I work sixteen hours a day," he said. "So don't expect more than six hours of sleep. I know you love your bed."

"Don't worry. I have worked on even less." She assured.

"Give me your phone," he said. Wordlessly, she handed over her cell phone. He fiddled with it for a few minutes and then his phone beeped with a text.

"Here," he returned the device.

Rose looked down at the number he had saved. A deep blush broke through her as she read over the name under which he had stored it.

"Baby?"

"Yeah?" he smirked.

"Why'd you store it as such?" she asked amusedly.

"Wasn't that what you called me when we….?" he asked looking at her with a knowing smile.

"Whatever. I don't even remember," she murmured. Bluff.

They stopped in front of an intricately decorated double doors with guards posted on the either side.

"Your majesty!" They bowed simultaneously, pushing the door open.

"These are my chambers." He said waving his hands in indication. Rose nodded taking in everything silently. It was everything she could have imagined. Lavish. Spacious. Tastefully designed. Expensive. There was no personal touch although. No family pictures. Nothing. Except….

"Why do you have my photograph on your nightstand?"

"I love that picture." Rose looked at him incredulously. Seriously. This man was giving her whiplash. All of a sudden, he was back in her life, trying to woo the hell out of her! If he wanted her so much, why did he even leave in the first place?

"What do you want?" she asked hands on her hips and with a scowl on her face. "You don't need me as your guardian. So, what is it you want from me?"

"You. You and Me. I want you and me. Together. Again." he said without missing a beat.

"So you could leave again?" she mocked.

"No. I'm here to stay."

"How amazing of you!" Sarcastic words bit him. "Listen Dimitri….I can't do this again. Not anymore."

"Do you have a boyfriend?" he asked with a voice full of jealousy. Whiplash. Ugh!

"What do.."

"Answer me!"

"No. God, no!"

"Then why? Why can't you do this?"

"Because I…"

"Don't give that 'I don't love you' crap. I know you do. I can see it clearly in your eyes."

"Hello? Do you remember those five years ago, somebody left a girl? Without a goodbye, much less telling her why he was leaving? After he said he'd never leave?"

"I didn't do it for my fun! I had my reasons!" he bellowed.

Rose scoffed. "Reason?"

"Yes!"

"Let me guess….uhm… you found someone better? You had had your fill of a naïve dhampir?"

"Don't mock it, Roza!"

"Don't call me Roza!" she shouted.

One second he was standing on the other side of the room and the next second, she was pressed against a wall.

Before she could process it, Dimitri slammed his mouth over hers, taking her lips in an almost violent kiss. Rose gasped. He was kissing her. He was kissing her! She tried to pull away, but there was nowhere to go. The hard length of his body had her pinned. She protested, but he bit her lower lip with his teeth.

She moaned. Loudly. Embarrassingly.

Oh lord! She could feel him smile against her lips, before pressing harder.

"I'll call you whatever I want," he whispered gruffly against her ears, dipping his tongue in the shell. Rose shivered. "You know why?" he asked, whispering kisses along her neck, her jugular, the base of her jaw. She was a mess. A hot mess. And she liked it so much. She loved him so much. He was so close; she was dizzy on him, on his scent, on his eyes, on his lips. The ability to think and make decisions had long fled her mind. All that surrounded her at the moment was him. Him. Him.

"Dimitri…." Her voice was a groan. He grazed the top of the swell of her breast.

"Do you?"

"Dimi..No baby.."

"Because you're mine Roza." he said, weaving his fingers through her hair. "All mine, baby. All mine. I love you so much…."

That was the bucket of cold water she needed. She stiffened. He felt it and reluctantly stepped back, but not enough to leave her personal space.

"Roza…"

"No." She said, shaking her head. "No!" she said more forcefully, pushing him away this time.

"Ro…" he started.

But she was gone.

* * *

Rose plopped down on her bed with a heavy sigh. Her eyes were brimming with tears of frustration and humiliation. How could she?

She was supposed to be strong! Not melt down like a puddle of want at the first time he touched her. She cried softly, hitting the pillow on her bed repeatedly. Why? Why? Why could she hate him?!

Crunch.

Startling, she looked for the source of sound. A paper? On the top of her pillow?

She scowled, lifting it up and unfolding it.

" _I'm sorry! Let me make up to you?"_

Was all it read. She sniffled. Make up to her? How?

She hated that a small part of her wanted to know. That she knew deep down in her heart that Dimitri had left for a reason. And it hurt her that he couldn't trust her with his secrets, when she trusted him with all of hers. She knew he loved her. And that was what scared her to take him back. When she was with him, she was totally with him, lost in him. She didn't want to lose herself again.

And it was impossible now anyway. Because hello? He wasn't her Dimitri anymore. He was His majesty, King Dimitri Alexander Belikov.

Rose was so confused about her own damn feelings! She wanted him and she did not! She wanted to smack him and then kiss the hell out of him. Damn him!

* * *

The next morning Rose woke up to the smell of something….sweet? soft? Her eyes flew open to see around her room. Red. Blue. Pink. Dark pink. Her rooms were filled to the brim with Peonies. Her favorite flowers. They were everywhere. Every – fucking – where!

She didn't know whether to leap at joy of knock the sense off Dimitri who definitely had done this. She chose for the former option. With a squeal of delight she leapt up running her hands through the beauties.

Wait!

That wasn't the only thing. On top of two bouquets, there was a box of something suspiciously….donuts!

" _I'm sorry. Let me make up to you?"_

Hell! If this was the way he would make up to her, then she was game for it. Every day!

* * *

Three weeks later….

"It's Christmas week!"

"Like we don't already know about it, you don't have to squeal!" Rose snorted looking around the living room. Christmas decorations have totally invaded it. Bea had requested for a sky – high Christmas tree and Lissa and Christian had done their best to comply.

"You're such a party pooper, Rose." Lissa scowled.

"Tell me something new." Rose retorted.

"The smile on your face. That's new," Lissa said with a teasing smile.

Rose rolled her eyes, the 'said smile' never leaving her face.

"A girl has the right to smile after seeing her best friend after two weeks, okay?"

"Are you sure, you're this excited to meet me? Or it has anything to with a big bad Russian, who also happens to be the king…"

Rose scowled, or well…tried to. Her smile was way too big.

"Come on, missy. Throw me some scrapes!"

"It's nothing…We're just talking…"

"About what?"

"Nothing in particular. He asks for my opinions, talks to me about his day, he shares his meals with me, make jokes on stuffy royals…It just…I don't know. But I like it. He even cooked for me yesterday, you know? I mean who does that to your guardian?"

"No one I know of!" Lissa smiled. "So, he never tried to get in your pants?" Lissa asked.

"Aside from kissing the daylights out of me the first day? nope!" Rose sighed remembering the earth - moving, soul – shattering, passionate kiss.

"So…."

"Don't." Rose warned.

"At least, let me know. You're working on patching things up?"

"I don't know…"

"You don't know?" Lissa asked incredulously.

"I…he messes with my head."

"But it's a good mess up right?" Lissa asked hopefully.

A spark of irritation hit Rose. "Why are you so hopeful about this?"

"Should I not be?"

"Lissa. He left."

"And he's back now. Look how good things are!"

"And forget everything? Forget the last five years?"

"Have you asked him why he left?" Lissa asked.

"No."

"Why?"

"What do you mean why?"

"There were threats against you, Rose. Murder threats." Lissa deadpanned. Rose froze.

"Wha…what?"

"Last year of high school, Turns out Queen Tatiana didn't want any royal blood mixing up, so she set up this. She had you following, taped your phones and threatened Dimitri to leave you."

"Oh my god!" Rose exclaimed. She couldn't have conjured this up if she tried. Oh. My God!

"That's why, Rose. I know you're hurt. He did it badly. But look at him now! He's trying to be everything he promised he would be! He's trying to win you back! He loves you. And that sort of love is found only once in your life! So I'm begging you Rose, Don't leave him hanging. Let him know that he has a chance!"

Tears threatened to spill off her eyes. She didn't know how to reply to Lissa's queries. She was still processing all of it.

"I want to Liss…But how do I trust him?"

Lissa smiled sweetly, wrapping her arms around Rose. "Don't you know, silly? You already do!"

* * *

"Roza?" Dimitri asked, knocking on her door softly.

"Dimitri?"

"I…I was wondering if you'd…I mean you'd come with me to the sermon? I know you're off duty, and…"

"Okay." Rose said.

"Okay?"

"Let me change, first. I'll be there with you in a moment." She said, closing the door softly.

After ten agonizingly long minutes, she finally appeared. "You ready?"

She nodded. Dimitri took her hands in his, waiting for her to pull away, but surprisingly – she didn't. He smiled, a little relieved and a whole lot hopeful. Maybe it was working - him trying to win her back.

"Remember that Christmas night, when Jesse pretended to be Santa?" Dimitri asked as they neared the church. Something about being with her like this triggered old memories. Happy times!

Rose snorted in laughter. "How could I ever forget?! He tried climbing the roof and was stuck up there for the entire evening, freezing his ass out!"

"He caught frostbite in his ass, do you know?"

"Oh my god!" Rose howled in laughter.

"What good days!" Dimitri muttered.

"Definitely," Rose said, squeezing his hands.

" _Neither height nor depth, nor anything else in creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 8:39 NIV)_ Father Millers started the sermon.

" _Did you know that your heavenly father wants to come home this Christmas? It doesn't matter who you are or what you've done or how long you have done it. God says, "I want you to come home to my love and forgiveness." That's what Christmas is all about._

The sermon continued and Rose clung to every word that came out of the priest's mouth.

Hope. Love. Forgiveness. Wasn't Christmas all about it? She glanced at Dimitri, sitting beside her in the first row.

Hope. Hadn't he held hope for her since the beginning? He had hoped she'd come back to him, doing everything in his power to win her back. Make her feel special. Make her happy.

Love. He loved her unconditionally. Even when he could have had anyone, he chose her. His love for her ran to the stars. The same way hers did.

Forgiveness. She had to forgive him. And he had to forgive her. Then and only then they could have be together. For real. For good.

Dimitri glanced at Rose who was still staring quietly at him. He raised his eyebrow in question, while a half smile tugged on his lips.

She shook her head, but shifted closer to him, her eyes seeking his hope and her heart – his strength.

* * *

"Dimitri?"

He startled looking up from where he was sitting on one of the chairs in his bedroom.

"Roza?"

"I…"

"You're still here?" His voice reverberated with hope that shone in his eyes.

"I wanted to talk to you." She said softly. "About things…"

"Oh…" A sigh fell off his lips as he stood up, walking towards her. She raised a hand to stop him at an arm's length. His eyebrows shot up in question.

"I need to say this. Please."

"What….?"

"I need to say something. And I need to let it off. I can't do that with you standing in my personal space. You mess up with my head."

A sheepish smile crept up on his face as he regarded her with curiosity. "Okay."

"I love you. I know you know that. But I had to say it again. I love you- Dimitri Belikov. From the first moment I saw you. I fell in love with you. I thought it was puppy love, but no. It ran deeper. Way too deep. When you left, I was at a loss of things. I didn't know what to do with myself. It was three painful years before I had any semblance of moving on. The photograph of you and me in the carnival that was the only thing that got me going." She took a deep breath.

"I was not the Rose everyone knew. I was afraid to go out and make friends, or just have fun. I believed if I had too much, then it will be taken away from me. Just like you were. Therefore I isolated myself, the sole purpose of my life was to make sure Lissa and Christian enjoyed their life at the fullest, do everything I couldn't do. That was until you came back…"

"I knew the first moment I saw you…you were trouble. Still, you made my heart skip beats. They never go away with you, the butterflies in my stomach. And that was the first thing I felt when I saw you again. I was angry, but that was only on surface. Deep down, some part of my heart knew it had a reason – you leaving. I wasn't even angry for that, no. I was heartbroken that whatever it was, you chose to hide it away from me. You had left me some serious trust issues Dimitri.

"But every day for this past month, you grew on me again. You worked me into trusting you again. And I was scared again – scared to be this weak around you. Therefore I filed for resignation. You break me down Dimitri. But it was only when I was in the church today, I realized that you build me up too."

"Roza…I'm sorry milaya. I didn't want to hurt you. You're not weak sweetheart. You're anything but weak. You inspire me every day. I work myself up every day to deserve you. I don't know if I ever will. But I do know that there will be no man walking on this earth who'd love you more than I do."

"I believe you." She smiled through her tears and threw herself in his arms.

"I've missed you so much comrade." She whispered cling to him.

"Not as much as I have."

"Let's not make a competition out of it." Rose chuckled. He pressed his lips to her. Not moving just holding it there with hers.

"Merry Christmas, Comrade."

"Merriest of all the Christmases, milaya. Merriest of all!"


End file.
